Endurance of the Soul

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

 

Endurance of the Soul

 

Grant that each individual is unique

Let us call that uniqueness the soul

Grant that the soul exists within the

living spirit of each individual being

Grant that something which exists in

time and space cannot cease to exist

It must endure though it be transformed

 

We have arrived at the most basic

promise of all the world’s religions:

That the soul lives beyond our death

What we have not and cannot resolve

is whether the soul retains its form as an

individuality within a larger body or

it absorbed into the collective soul

This is a question that is beyond science

Subject only to deeply spiritual inquiry

 

Let each man and woman decide for him

and her self and let us call this: faith:

A complex web of internalized beliefs

that mirrors the essence of the soul

 

Faith is a choice: Choose wisely

 

House of Saud

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

House of Saud

 

They rule by royal bloodline

Their people are enslaved

They smile and share the wine

And laugh over our graves

We treat them with esteem

But it’s not the way it seems

We’re titans to their gods

The royal House of Saud

 

With the price of oil rising

The dying in Ukraine

The east and west colliding

Allies only in name

I find it most surprising

The Saudis have no shame

The west will not applaud

The royal House of Saud

 

The Saudis aren’t our friends

But on their oil we depend

How long must we pretend?

How long must we defend

The sponsors of jihad

The royal House of Saud

 

The Arraignment

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Arraignment

 

Lord knows it took a while

The squeaky wheels of justice turn

The former leader goes to trial

The flames of payback burn

 

The man no one could ever touch

Who always skated ‘round the law

His confidence was way too much

His manners much too raw

 

But time runs out for everyone

The proudest and the best

The slumlord’s spoiled little son

Did not survive his latest test

 

He can’t believe what’s going down

How can this world be so unfair?

I’m the man who sold this town!

Sorry Donald, no one cares

 

The Year of Warming

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE

The Year of Warming

 

The year of warming has arrived

The year when everything changes

The year when diehard skeptics awaken

The year tornado alley became an expressway

from California to New Jersey

The year the Midwest became a wasteland

on the trail of mass destruction

The year the south became a cemetery

The year no one could escape the ravages

of global climate change

The year deniers were denied

 

We mourn the dead and suffering

We can no longer look away

The time for warning is over

The change is here to stay

 

(From the news: A swarm of tornadoes

hits eleven states, taking over 30 lives.)

 

Ironies

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

Ironies

 

The irony is

Poverty hits hardest those who

don’t believe in helping the poor

 

The irony is

Global warming most victimizes

those who deny its very existence

 

The irony is

Homelessness comes to those

who least expect it

 

The irony is

Those who condemn sins most

loudly are most likely to be tempted

 

The irony is

Those who cry injustice are often

those who are most unjust

 

Life is filled with ironies

There runs a steady stream

On the daily news

In our daily lives

In the lives of those we know

In the lives of those we don’t

 

In a world of the extraordinary

The extraordinary becomes ordinary

 

Ironic, isn’t it?